ÜberDoober
05-28-2008, 07:38 PM
For months now, The DooberMobile has been nursing a clicking CV joint, a strut that came apart and a variety of extra clunks and bangs. Thursday, while not totally breaking down, a horrible painful noise accompanied by a massive vibration let me know that time was up for ignoring the problem. I limped her home and parked her in the garage until this morning.
Our man on the board, kelstr, master mechanic and tinkerer, agreed to get his hands dirty in the name of DooberHood. I gingerly drove to his shop and we jumped right in.
Up in the air and running in 3rd produced a variety of abnormal sounds and shakes. From the sound of it, you would have thought wheel bearing but the heavy vibration made me think otherwise. You can see her passenger side paw is limping.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture022.jpg
My strut cartridge had come unscrewed from its holder but was otherwise intact. The bottom came off with the wheel assembly.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture028.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture029.jpg
We started with the cheap things first and looked at the wheel bearings. They all looked great and the races didn't show a mark. Not bad for 200K!
After deciding that wasn't the problem, everything was repacked and the seals put back in.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture030-2.jpg
Noticed that my sway bar thingy was kind in need of a bushing or two as well! :)'
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture026-1.jpg
Now this little car, a 1983 Toyota Tercel SR-5, is the closest thing you can get to motorcycling with four wheels. The thing rails around corners like you wouldn't believe with a wind up four banger and a 5-speed to match. I drive it like a road rally car! It is a blast, looks like hell, has no interior and is missing it's nose and both bumpers. :ack2: I think it need some big diecut vinyl DooberViller lettering on it!
With an hour of finding parts and another hour waiting, we were back on the job,
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture041.jpg
The new driveshafts looked identical (at the time).
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture038.jpg
However, when we went to put them in, the splined shaft stuck out of the hub too far and the nut couldn't seat and pull the shaft the rest of the way into position. We went on a hunt for spacers or washers or something.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture044-1.jpg
We couldn't find anything to fit and after a few failed trys, I got the great idea to use a bearing. kelstr whacked apart a few but nothing would quite fit the bill.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture045.jpg
We did decide that we were on the right track and went in search of another bearing to use as a spacer and found one that fit perfectly. Maybe not the best thing to use but it worked and the wheel, axle and strut all buttoned up nicely.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture049.jpg
We left the DooberMobile hanging on the rack waiting for new bushings for the sway bar. A damn set for each end (from Toyota) cost more than the driveshaft did. Makes no sense for a couple pieces of rubber.
We'll pick up in the morning and take care of a few other little things when the parts come in. I've got a leaky rocker cover gasket and while it is apart to replace it, we're going to check the valve adjustment too. New engine is now about 18 months old and we've never looked at them.:o
A quick oil dump, check of the tranny fluid, a rotation of the tires and four new spark plugs and I'll be back on the road. We'll have the rest of the story tomorrow! :)
After coming home and uploading the pictures, I see in our haste that we didn't notice beforehand that the wheel side of the two axles didn't match up. Look at the space where the splines start. We're lucky to have made it work and chances are, if this went to a shop to repair (which I'll never do), they would have told us we couldn't get parts.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture040.jpg
Our man on the board, kelstr, master mechanic and tinkerer, agreed to get his hands dirty in the name of DooberHood. I gingerly drove to his shop and we jumped right in.
Up in the air and running in 3rd produced a variety of abnormal sounds and shakes. From the sound of it, you would have thought wheel bearing but the heavy vibration made me think otherwise. You can see her passenger side paw is limping.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture022.jpg
My strut cartridge had come unscrewed from its holder but was otherwise intact. The bottom came off with the wheel assembly.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture028.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture029.jpg
We started with the cheap things first and looked at the wheel bearings. They all looked great and the races didn't show a mark. Not bad for 200K!
After deciding that wasn't the problem, everything was repacked and the seals put back in.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture030-2.jpg
Noticed that my sway bar thingy was kind in need of a bushing or two as well! :)'
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture026-1.jpg
Now this little car, a 1983 Toyota Tercel SR-5, is the closest thing you can get to motorcycling with four wheels. The thing rails around corners like you wouldn't believe with a wind up four banger and a 5-speed to match. I drive it like a road rally car! It is a blast, looks like hell, has no interior and is missing it's nose and both bumpers. :ack2: I think it need some big diecut vinyl DooberViller lettering on it!
With an hour of finding parts and another hour waiting, we were back on the job,
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture041.jpg
The new driveshafts looked identical (at the time).
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture038.jpg
However, when we went to put them in, the splined shaft stuck out of the hub too far and the nut couldn't seat and pull the shaft the rest of the way into position. We went on a hunt for spacers or washers or something.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture044-1.jpg
We couldn't find anything to fit and after a few failed trys, I got the great idea to use a bearing. kelstr whacked apart a few but nothing would quite fit the bill.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture045.jpg
We did decide that we were on the right track and went in search of another bearing to use as a spacer and found one that fit perfectly. Maybe not the best thing to use but it worked and the wheel, axle and strut all buttoned up nicely.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture049.jpg
We left the DooberMobile hanging on the rack waiting for new bushings for the sway bar. A damn set for each end (from Toyota) cost more than the driveshaft did. Makes no sense for a couple pieces of rubber.
We'll pick up in the morning and take care of a few other little things when the parts come in. I've got a leaky rocker cover gasket and while it is apart to replace it, we're going to check the valve adjustment too. New engine is now about 18 months old and we've never looked at them.:o
A quick oil dump, check of the tranny fluid, a rotation of the tires and four new spark plugs and I'll be back on the road. We'll have the rest of the story tomorrow! :)
After coming home and uploading the pictures, I see in our haste that we didn't notice beforehand that the wheel side of the two axles didn't match up. Look at the space where the splines start. We're lucky to have made it work and chances are, if this went to a shop to repair (which I'll never do), they would have told us we couldn't get parts.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Picture040.jpg